
Class __t:S_Xli_^ 
Gop}TiQhtN«____U^ 

Ci}F)LRIGUT DEPOSm 



Dreams and Visions 

OF 

An Engineer 

By 

Hiram N. Smades 



Copyright, 1920 by H. N. Smades 



MAR 23 1920 



©Of.A5S6157 



TO THE EISIQINEERS OF AMERICA 



This is the work of 

A Mechanic 

and published by request 

of friends 



PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 
WATTS, CALIFORNIA 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Glad Spring 10 

Youth 11 

I Think of You 15 

The Robber 16 

On the Old St. Lawrence 17 

Gone to the Hills 19 

Dear Old Clothes 20 

Jack and 1 21 

The Exit 23 

Away With Fear 24 

In Childhood 25 

Los Angeles 27 

They Are Gone 28 

The Man With a Million 29 

Destruction 32 

A Nightmare 33 

The Restless Sea 35 

The After Glow 36 

Hiram's Trumpet 37 

Reverie 39 

Our Mansion 40 

The Angel's Whisper 41 

Heart Throbs 43 

On to Berlin ! 44 

Reflections of a Tramp 45 

Transformation 47 

God Help the Poor 48 

The Storm 49 

Sweetly They Sleep 51 

The Skeleton's Ball 53 

Flour Gravy 55 

What Is Man? 56 

Thanksgiving 57 

To A Millionaire 59 

The Answers That Came 60 

Joy and Woe 61 

The Mystery 65 

Back at the Farm 82 

Transmigration 83 

To An Actress 84 



PAGE 

Ingersoll 85 

Winter 86 

The Water Spout 87 

Flames 88 

None Are Lost 89 

Long and Black 90 

The Winds 91 

A Whisper 92 

Rise O Hope ! 93 

Rats * 94 

In Connecticut 95 

Lake Michigan in November 96 

By the Mystic Sea 97 

Farewell 98 

In the Golden Glow 99 

Ice Locked 100 

Like Birds Departing 101 

She Lifts Her Head 102 

Cloud Ships 103 

The First Snow 104 

Through the Storm 105 

Hallelujah 106 

Under Broad Elms 107 

Nature Is Turning 108 

Comrades 109 

A Fable 112 

Conundrum 113 

The Ant 113 

My Choice 114 

To a Woman 114 

Why? 115 

Why is This? 115 

Borrowed Garments 116 

The Power Behind the Pen 116 

Wounds 117 

Self-Appointed Judges 117 

I'd Rather be Slapped 118 

When Fashion Rules 118 

The Devil's Corkscrew 119 

Dreams Will Live 122 

Farewell 123 



®Ife AutI|or 



The author of this little volume opened his eyes to the 
light of this world July 25, 1839, on the old Smades home- 
stead on the bank of the St. Lawrence river, three miles 
from Prescott, in Ontario, Canada. He was the youngest 
of a family of seven children, four girls and three boys. At 
the age of eight years his father and mother had both 
passed away and he went to make his home with an uncle 
who was a farmer. Here the lad developed into a husky 
youth, who, reaping and binding in the harvest fields, kept 
up with the fastest cradlers. Early in life his mechanical 
ability was demonstrated, and at the age of sixteen he left 
the fields for the city, where he went into the shop of James 
Turmbull, a skilled ironworker and blacksmith. After a 
year in this place, the youth could forge as good a horse 
shoe or nail as the masters of the art, and he began to look 
about for another line of work. It was while in this shop 
he decided to be an engineer. With longing eyes he had 
watched the steamboats plying up and down the St. Law- 
rence river. They seemed calling him, and answering the 
call he crossed the river and in the shops at Ogdensburg 
began the schooling for his life work. He worked in a num- 
ber of different places before finishing his mechanical edu- 
cation, one of them a great concern in New York where 
he helped build the ponderous engines for the sea-going 



steamships of that day. He was yet scarce more than a 
youth when he had received his papers and was first en- 
gineer on one of the steamers of the Great Lakes. After 
some years of engineer service in the North and East, he 
went to the great Southwest, where he put in some of the 
largest mills in this vast new timber region. Later he went 
into the machinery and manufacturing business for himself. 
As an engineer his service to his fellow men was not only 
that of a constructive force in the world of industry, but a 
force in the moral world. With pen and purse he fought 
the legalized Liquor Traffic until the day of its downfall. 
During the years his travels have been wide and his days 
crowded with toil. Yet he has given expression to some 
of the thoughts that have come to him. From a consider- 
able accumulation of printed verse and unprinted frag- 
ments, written sometimes beside the work bench with toil- 
stained hands, and sometimes in far places to fill lonely 
hours, the matter which has been selected is left herewith 
with the reader. 



fnutlj 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



GLAD SPRING 

A rift in the clouds 
And the sunbeams dance 
And a thousand songsters sing. 
The trees are blooming, 
The blue bells wave. 
'Tis spring again, 
Glad spring! 



Page 10 




l^mxtii 



See Page 11 



OF AN ENGINEER 



YOUTH 

Ah! I have castles builded high 
Upon the pillars of the air: 

I have brave ships returning home 
With cargoes rich and treasure rare. 

And as I sail upon the sea 

When storms arise and billows curl, 
I dream of a calm haven bright 

A vine clad cottage and fair girl. 



Page 11 



l^rHP 



Page 13 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



PRO BONO PUBLICO 

If people did not write their thoughts 
The world would have nothing to read. 



Page H 



OF AN ENGINEER 



I THINK OF YOU 

I think of you, dear heart, I think of you — 
At morn, when the new sun breaks o'er the hill ; 

And in the hush of eve when all is still, 

When crickets chirp and stars peep through the blue 

I think of you, dear heart, I think of you. 

Back through the vanished years, when life was new 
We wandered hand in hand through fields of green ; 

We hastened on and on, our joys unseen ; 
Your joy to be with me, mine to have you. 

As in those days, dear heart, I think of you. 

The path I took in life led far from you : 
The fleeting years have taken in their flight 
The happy days that I recall tonight. 
You walk afar down life's gray avenue 
Alone like me. Dear heart, I think of you. 



Page 15 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



THE ROBBER 

Who art thou who dares to come so bold, 
With steps more light than man e'er told, 
Unbidden, to my drawing room, and hall? 
Thy covetous eye's been drawn I fear 
By silver plate and jewel casket here ; 
Black villain ! Would you rob us of our all ? 
Burglar be gone ! 

Sleep comes no more to me this troubled night, 
Though jewels, and our plate, I find all right. 
My wife wakes not, and on her pillow sleeps. 
Pacing the room alone with crouching fear 
I feel some dark intruder's presence here 
Who lurks within and through our chamber creeps- 
Goblin or Ghost, away! 

The sleepless night is gone and day has come 
With shining gladness, and with insects hum ; 
Then thousand sunbeams dance above my head. 
My wife sleeps late. I go to wake her now — 
Laurett, Laurett ! how undisturbed art thou ! 
I shake her. God! she lies here cold and dead. 
Alas! the robber, the robber! 



This poem first appeared in the Arkansas Democrat. It was widely copied 
and voted one of the best current short poems. 

Page 16 



OF AN ENGINEER 



ON THE OLD ST. LAWRENCE 

On the old St. Lawrence River, 

Where bright waters sparkling through 
Mossy islands by the thousand 

Made a picture fair to view ; 
Long ago two boys went wading 

After small ships on play seas ; 
Learned the swimming holes, and later 

Pushed their light canoe with ease ; 
Fished for bass and perch and sunfish, 

Learning of each, curious habits ; 
In the cedar thickets hunting — 

Shooting squirrels, partridge, rabbits ; 
Coasting down the snow clad hillside, 

Skating on the frozen bay^ 
Talking summer time and winter 

Of the wonders far away. 

E'er the boyhood play days ended. 

Pushed were they from the home nest; 
In the world to seek their fortunes 

One went East and one went West. 
One fought red-skins on the praries, 

And in mountains delved for gold, 
With a vision of a print shop 

When his life should be less bold. 



Page 17 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



One turned toward the ponderous engine, 
Pushing ships where billows gleam, 

His dream to hold the throttle 
Of that master-power Steam. 

On the old St. Lawrence river, 

Where bright waters sparkling through 
Mossy islands by the thousand. 

Make a picture fair to view — 
Gone the lads — and gone forever. 
From their haunts along the river. 



Page 18 



OF AN ENGINEER 



GONE TO THE HILLS 

Gone to the hills, the towering hills, 
Where nature's treasures vie, 

Where worthless rock and precious ore 
In heaps together lie. 

Gone to the hills, the silent hills, 
Where buried treasures sleep. 

Where rattlesnake with poisonous fangs 
And the Gila monsters creep. 

Gone to the hills, God's great grand hills, 

Where mountain lions prowl; 
And wild cats pounce upon the quail, 

And hungry coyotes howl. 

Gone to the hills, the rock-crowned hills, 

Where honey sages grow; 
And hum of bees is on the trees 

Filling their sacks to go. 

Gone to the hills, eternal hills, 

God's gateways to the sky ; 
The finest place on earth to live 

And safest place to die. 



Page 19 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



DEAR OLD CLOTHES 

I have worn them every day 
Through the toil and throujrh the fray ; 
They've come with me all the way — 
Dear old clothes! 

Now they're worn and soiled and old, 
And for junk they should be sold. 
Yet I'll not trade them for gold : 
Dear old clothes! 

Wife says, "Give them to the poor — 
Please don't wear them any more." 
It's a thought I can't endure ! 
Dear old clothes! 

I dress up, though, once a week ; 
Go and hear the preacher speak. 
Home again I straightway seek, 
Dear old clothes! 

Not afraid to get them soiled, 
Not afraid to get them spoiled, 
They've been with me while I toiled, 
Dear old clothes! 

I have worn them every day: 
They've come with me all the way. 
Through the toil and through the fray, 
Dear old clothes! 



PageW 



OF AN ENGINEER 



JACK AND I 

Our home is a shack in the canyon wild, 
Our neighbors, coyote and deer; 

You can bet your boots, and be sure to win. 
There are no police nor courts out here — 
For Jack and I. 

Hope leads us on with a master hand 
And we smite the flint-like ledge ; 

Our treasures are yet still farther in, 
And we drive the opening wedge — 
Jack and I. 

With heads that are bald and gray, 

And with limbs that are lank and thin ; 

O'er dynamite drills and sledge 
We are driving the tunnel in — 
Jack and I. 

With feet that are calloused and worn, 
And hands that are bony and thin ; 

With fuse and cap and tamping bar 
We are driving the tunnel in — 
Jack and I. 



Page 21 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



The coyote screams his midnight song, 
And the owls they holler "Hoo-hoo!" 

And the mountain lions give us a call 

At night when our daily toil is through — 
Jack and I. 

We sing as we shatter the flinty rock ; 

Yes, better to sing than to weep. 
Sometimes we wonder why God in his love 

Has buried his treasures so deep — 
Jack and I. 

Wild animals sport o'er the hills and the plain, 
And the sheep lie at rest in the fold ; 

It is only man that wears himself out 
With his love and his greed for gold. 
Like Jack and I. 



Page a 



OF AN ENGINEER 



THE EXIT. 

Just say, "He loved the children," 
When you lay my bones away; 

And you needn't mind the flowers. 
And you needn't sing and pray. 

And forget the dark things whispered 
That would cloud the fairest day ; 

And you needn't wonder where I've gone 
When I leave my friends to stay. 

I've met none with angel pinions, 
While traveling down life's way: 

The wings come at the hatching time 
When our shells are cast away. 

So you needn't bring sweet flowers. 

Sing gospel songs, nor pray. 
Just say, "He loved the children," 

When my bones are laid away. 



Page; 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



AWAY WITH FEAR 

Come Reason, come and spirits free, 

Come sit with me and write : 
Dark superstition's sway must end. 

Come ! Help turn on the light ! 
Truth's flood gates help me open wide 

To turn back superstition's tide. 

When man was young 'twas told to him 

That God said this and God said that 
And thus the wily priest had birth 

And soon became an autocrat 
To rob the worker of his toil. 
He robbed his prey of power and soil 
By holding fear above his head, 
And cowing him with curses dread. 

Away with hell where devils dwell 

And fumes of sulphur rise ! 
Away with purgatorial fire 

And kindred frightful lies. 
No hell can Truth's clear searchlight find 
Except the fear in man's own mind. 



PageH 



OF AN ENGINEER 



IN CHILDHOOD 

Oh Memory that brings back youth 
And our childhood's happy hour. 

In looking back through vanished years I sometimes live 

life over, 
And romp with happy heart again with one I called my 

lover. 
Wherever she was I would be, at her home or at mine; 
I was the trellis open armed and she the clinging vine. 

We had our playhouse neath a tree where happiness was 

rife; 
I was the mighty lord of earth and she the little wife : 
I came to dinner on a day and found a great surprise — 
She's carried water, mixed the mud and made a batch of 

pies. 

We taught young chickens how to swim in mother's old 
rain barrel. 

When apple blossoms fragrant hung and robins used to 
carol : 

We gathered from the meadow's breast the dandelions that 
glitter ; 

We saw the bluebirds build their nests and heard the swal- 
lows twitter. 



Paoe 25 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



But sadness came to us one day, my little mate and I, 

I quarreled with her o'er a toy and made her pout and cry. 

But we "made up" and friends again we took each other's 

hand, 
And sat down to amuse ourselves by printing in the sand. 

We waded in the brook near by, with eels and minnows 

brimming ; 
Sometimes we'd both lie down and play that we were grandly 

swimming. 
When hungry we would loiter home, wet and with clothing 

dripping — 
Our mothers would look cross at us — sometimes we got a 

whipping. 

Thus looking back through long gone years, in age I live 

life over, 
And romp with happy heart again beside my dark-eyed 

lover. 
Wherever she was I would be, at her home or at mine : 
I was the trellis strong and true and she the clinging vine. 



Page 26 



OF AN ENGINEER 



LOS ANGELES 

You've heard of that heavenly city, 
Where spirts of good people go — 

A city of mansions bejewelled, 

Where milk and honey streams flow. 

But no one may enter that city 

Save through the dark valley of fate, 

We pass through the gloom of Death Valley 
Before we can enter its gate. 

But there is another fair city. 
Where angels oft glide to and fro 

In chariots (Not drawn by horses), 
And to this fair realm all may go — 

May all join the legions of angels 

That crowd from the North and the East 

To bask in the glow of her sunshine 
And on her rich fruitage to feast. 

wait not for Time with his sickle 
To set your oppressed spirit free. 

But haste to that beautiful city, 
That reigns by the Golden West sea. 



Page 27 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



THEY ARE GONE 

O where are the red men who lived where we live — 
Where ferryboats now swiftly ply to and fro ? 

They paddled their birch bark canoes in the stream, 
But long ago went where the wood pigeons go. 

The war whoop no longer is heard on the plain, 

The echo has died over forest and hill, 
The braves and their squaws have crossed into the shades, 

The war dance has ceased and their voices are still. 

The ponies they rode in the buffalo chase 

Are gone like the game and no tepee fires burn. 

The red men have crossed to the shores of the Styx 
In shadow canoes that will never return. 

The greed of the pale-face with covetous hand, 
Read law to the redskin with powder and ball : 

Where the smoke of the wigwam once rose to the blue. 
The skyscraper stands and the new city hall. 



Page 28 



OF AN ENGINEER 



THE MAN WITH A MILLION 

Bowed by the weight of covet gold he leans 

Upon his cane and gazes at the ground, 

The greed of ages lurking in his soul, 

And on his back the burden of the world. 

Who made him dead to charity and love, 

"A thing that grieves not and that never hopes?" 

Cunning and sly, a brother to the fox, 

What sculptor carved and marked his selfish brow ? 

Who snatched humanity from out his breast 

And plucked the sight of right from his blind eye? 

"Whose breath blew out the light within this brain?'' 

"Is this the thing the world has made, and gave 

To have dominion over lands and sea?" 

To blast the rock and search the earth for power? 

Whose only cry is, "More! give me more!" 

Is this the man He made who planets hung. 

And pinned stars to the draped blue overhead? 

In the black vaults of hell to its last pit 

"There is no shape more terrible than this" — 

More fraught with censure by an .outraged world. 

What gulfs between him and a God of love? 

Slave to the wheel of wealth ! What means to him 

The man with hoe or woodman with his ax? 

What means to him, the tassled, silken corn ? 



Page i 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



Or forest teeming with the singing birds? 

The glory of a setting western sun, 

Or rattling music of electric storm? 

He hears no anthem in the wings of bees; 

Nor drinks the breath of blushing clover blooms. 

At his grim form the toiling masses gaze, 

By his dread shape humanity betrayed. 

Defrauded, plundered, disinherited. 

Cries to the judge, falls at the judge's feet. 

The laws are his — and he with law consumes. 

While the real life of empires and of states 

Leans on his mortgaged hoe and dreams and thinks 

Of his posterity and hopeless fate. 

O Thinkers ! Patriots ! Toilers of all lands ! 

How will the future reckon with this man 

Whose iron heel has crushed the toiler's neck? 

How nourish his brute passion in that hour 

When earthquakes of rebellion shake the world, 

When cyclones of despair shall sweep the earth 

And fiery tongues lick palaces and wealth? 

When ships may sail on tossing seas of blood, 

When great Jehovah purges earth once more? 



Page SO 



OF AN ENGINEER 



Restoring its fair wealth to common folk 
When the oppression of the years is done. 

Go to, rich man! Weep and howl and pray! 
Your misery shall come upon you soon. 
Your riches are corrupt, your garments frail. 
Your gold and silver cankered, and the rust 
Of them shall be a witness of the truth. 
Their rust shall eat your flesh as if with fire. 
Ye have reaped treasures only for this earth. 
The hire of laborers who reaped your fields 
Ye have kept back by wolfish greed and fraud. 
Their voices cry. The cry has entered in 
The ear of the Just One who made us all. 
Ye have but lived in pleasure on the earth — 
Ye have been wanton and but fed your hearts 
Against a day of slaughter. Weep and pray — 
For this is prophecy. 



Written after reading Edwin Marliiiam's Man Wit?h the Hoe, and first 
puijlislied in tlie Arlian.sas Democrat. 

Payc 31 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



DESTRUCTION 

The fairest llowor the p:reen earth bears 

In forest, field or thicket 
Is robbed of fra.irrance and of life 

Because you deign to pick it. 

Tlie ghiddest birds the good God made, 

From ostricli down to hnnet, 
(live up the phimage and their lives 

To deck my lady's bonnet. 

The little kid, that skips and plays, 

That everybody loves — 
Is killed \vhile yet his life is young 

To make fair lady's gloves. 

And cattle by the million head 

Their harmless lives must lose; 
Their bodies to the butcher shop 

Their hides worked into shoes. 

So forests vanish from the earth ; 

Great trees in countless number 
Are slaughtered by the ax and sav^ 

That we may have our lumber. 

And men by million multiplied 

Go down in strife and war, 
And seem to glory in the wrecks 

All good men should abhor. 

Pane Si 



OF AN ENGINEER 



A NIGHT-MARE 

I had plowed all day through rocks and roots 

With my father's old gray mare; 
She straddled the trace-chains every turn, 

And of course it made me swear ; 
And I yanked her mouth with iron bit, 

And yelled like a wretch in despair. 
And that same night I had a fright 

From that ghost of an old gray mare. 

Was I hungry that night? Well, yes; 

And I ate three good meals in one ; 
I wadded down the pork and beans — 

('Twere better I'd eaten none). 
Then I laid me down for a good night's rest, 

While stars in the heavens glow. 
But spooks came down from heights above, 

And imps came up from below. 

I heard the trace-chains rattle outside, 

Then the old gray mare walked in ; 
She came straight up beside my bed, 

And she gave a fiendish grin. 
Her eyes looked like two full-dip moons. 

And her ears lay back on her head ; 
Then she landed on me with all four feet 

And trampled me down in the bed. 



Paye 3H 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



My back Ixnved out and belly caved in 

As she danced ^vith hor iron shoes: 
I felt like a dog in a sausage mill. 

With no better fate to elux>se. 
Oh! die 1 must, and then be cussed 

By the imps and the old gray mare. 
And I gave a scream in my horrible dream. 

And it wakened dad in despair. 

Dad called. "Why. John, what ails you now? 

Wi\at on eartii can the matter be?" 
I said, "Oh, dad. come quick, come quick! 

The old mare's in the bed with me!" 
Then dad walked in. witli lamp in hand. 

Rut minus working jeans: 
He said. "My lx\v. guess the old mare came 

On account of too much beans." 



i*«S/^it 



OF AN ENGINEER 



THE RESTLESS SEA 

The sea is deep, the sea is wide, 
And breakers foam on every side; 
God walled it in with grains of sand 
To hold the fruitful valley land. 

The seagulls soar above the storm, 
While shells and fishes multiform 
Are in the deep, where seaweeds curl 
And hide the beauties of the pearl. 

Great ships upon their mission go 
And cross the tides that ebb and flow. 
When storms arise the ships are tossed — 
Sometimes the ships and crew are lost. 

The sea is salt, and do you know 
What makes the restless ocean so? 
When sailors drown the mermaids weep — 
Salt tears make up the mighty deep. 



Pape 35 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



THE AFTER-GLOW 

A star dropped down from among the stars 
And lay hidden low in the sand. 

Few were to know 

That its golden glow 
Had vanished from sight in the land. 

The reaper cleft a blade of grass 

That was borne from the field of Time: 

Its fragrance sweet 

Was all complete 
For its life had been sublime. 

A son went down, far in the West 
Where the golden sunsets show: 

But his little day, 

Though passed away. 
Left its beautiful afterglow. 



Written on the death of Ex-Senator W. J. Hill of Salinas, Calif., a cousin 
of the writer and his childhood companion and lifetime friend. 

Page 36 



OF AN ENGINEER 



HIRAM'S TRUMPET 

God gave him a trumpet and bade him blow, 
And he blew, and he blew, and he blew. 
An echo came back from the ends of the earth ; 
Some notes returned sad, and some full of mirth— 
And he blew, and he blew, and he blew. 

Some notes that went out from the trumpet he gave 
Were like bomb shells that broke in the air; 
Breweries tumbled and wreck strewed the ground. 
There were splinters and staves everywhere — 
And he blew, and he blew, and he blew. 

Another long blast from the trumpet went forth ; 
All the rum mills, the stills went askew, 
Naught left to inspect, or the tax to collect, 
And our good grain was saved from the brew — 
And he blew, and he blew, and he blew. 

He gave a strong blast, and a cyclone went out. 
And he blew, and he blew, and he blew; 
Old John Barlecorn and his army forlorn 
Were swept from the earth, a new era had birth — 
And he blew, and he blew, and he blew. 



Page S7 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



Then a sweet sound went forth from the trumpet, 
And he blew, and he blew, and he blew. 
The serpent's gone, and the lamb and the fawn 
Brought joy to the world and Millennium dawn — 
And he blew, and he blew, and he blew. 

Joy to the world from the trumpet went forth, 
And he blew, and he blew, and he blew. 
Christ the Lord has come down to His people again 
To proclaim peace on eath and salvation to men — 
And the trumpet God gave me I earnestly blew. 



The writer of tlie above lines opposed tlie iiquor traffic with pen and pencil 
for over sixty years. He lived to see the adoption of the Constitutional Amend- 
ment making" the United States dry territory. 

Proverbs 20 :7 — Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging ; and whosoever Is 
deceived thereby is not wise. 

Page 3S 



OF AN ENGINEER 



REVERIE 

The golden days and summer haze, 

When we oft walked together 
Adown the glen where maple shade 
And elder blooms made sweet the glade. 
Have vanished now forever. 

The brook that flows through field and fen 

Where flags and cattails waver 
Through the ravine, on toward the mill. 
Whose moss grown wheel is standing still, 
To turn no more forever. 

Today I view the scenes alone. 
The seasons go and come, to sever 
The friends that rambled with me there; 
These will not walk with me again. 
Dear past ! Gone — gone forever. 



Little IJock, Ark., Oct., I'M):',. 
Pane 39 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



OUR MANSION 

I am settling up my business 
And preparing for a journey — 

I'm going to a country far away; 
To a home of peace and quiet, 
And I shall not have to buy it — 

No mortgages mature there day by day. 

There's no want in that fair country, 
And no banks to hoard the gold ; 

No greedy souls to rob the toiling poor; 
But a mansion richly furnished, 
With its walls all white and burnished — 

Where the greedy never enter at the door. 

In our Father's ancient mansion 
There is room for all who enter — 

The title's everlasting and secure. 
There's no millionaire can buy it, 
Not a rich man needs to try it — 

This mansion God has builded for his poor. 



PageiO 



OF AN ENGINEER 



THE ANGEL'S WHISPER 

O lark of the meadow, your song's full of sweetness, 

As you call to your mate o'er the lea ; 
Your sweet notes are blending with voices descending. 

While the angels are whisp'ring to me. 

O white-breasted swallow, so gracefully darting. 

As you twitter and glide in your glee, 
You've come once again to bring springtime's sweet message 

While the angels are whisp'ring to me. 

cricket down under the old stone step chirping, 
Safely hidden where no eye can see; 

1 love your glad song in the calm of the evening 

When the angels are whisp'ring to me. 

O honey-bee humming, you kiss the sweet flowers, 

Then fly up to your home in the tree ; 
With wonderful neatness you store up the sweetness 

While the angels are whisp'ring to me. 

little brown ant, you industrious fellow. 

With your store houses hid in the land, 
You teach us a lesson on how to be thrifty 

As you pile up the grains of the sand. 



Page il 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



And rabbit, wild bunny, that hops in the thicket. 
Better watch for the hungry coyote; 

You're swift as a ranger, yet always in danger 
Lest you get a hole torn in your coat. 

And watch dog that growls at a stranger's appearing 
And to bark at the moon is full free. 

With bird, beast and insect, keep still for a minute 
While the angels are whisp'ring to me. 

beautiful world with its beauteous creations, 
Its forests, its rivers, its blue rolling seas : 

1 must bid you good-night and enter the slumber — 
The Angels of Dreamland are calling to me. 



Page i2 



OF AN ENGINEER 



HEART THROBS 

Be still, my heart, 

Nor throb so wild tonight; 
The fleeting years have gone 
And taken in their flight 
The flush of youth 
I'm old, forsooth. 

Be still, sick heart : 

Thy loved one lies at rest ; 

Nor moan, nor weep, nor sigh : 

God's way is always best. 

This is His will. 

My aching heart, 

Be still ! 

Be still, sore heart : 

Thy wounds can never heal. 
Come soon, O Fatal Wheel — 
God's greatest boon at last. 
This is His will, 
heart, be still, 
Be still! 



Little Uock, October, 1002. 
Page 1,3 



nilKAMS AND VISIONS 



ON TO BERLIN 

We arc cotninp:, Father Woodrow, 

Ton million soldiers strong; 
The eaglos are a-screaniinp:. 

While our hosts are marehin.u; on. 
'Neath the shadows of OUl (^lory, 

And above tiie noise and din. 
Freedom's voiee is eallinjr, ealling: 
"On to Berlin ! 
Onto Berlin!" 

Down fi-om the craggy mountains 
Come the hardy mountaineers; 
Up from the fruitful valleys 

Trami> the hordes of volunteers; 
And the eowboys are a-eoming 

To free Belgium and the Finn, 
And make a World Republic; 
'•On to Berlin! 
On to Berlin!" 



Mav. I '.US. 



l\>gc 44 



OF AN ENGINEER 



REFLECTIONS OF A TRAMP 

Backward, far backward, throuj^h swift rolling years, 

A fair little cottag:e returns to my view, 
With vine covered porch and evergreens by it, 

And dear little woman with eyes true and blue. 

Sitting together when worktime was over, 

We rocked as the moon shone, the whole evening through 
While mocking birds sang to whipporwills calling, 

We planned for the future as young people do. 

We sat in the shade of the broad-spreading maple. 
We walked in the garden where carnations grew, 

We culled summer roses and put on the mantle 

And violet that scented the whole cottage through. 

Oh cruelly broken the joys of my home-life, 

When first I drank beer at the bar o'er the way, 

The appetite grew like a horrible cancer 

To strangle my manhood and drive love away. 



/'«,(/<; f'i 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



The liquor saloon was to me ever calling; 

I drank at its fountain and bathed in its shame, 
Turned my back on the cottage and love ever pleading, 

And traveled the highway of blight and ill-fame. 

Alone on the road of life's hurry and tumult, 
The mirror reflects but a wreck to my view. 

And under the stars, with hay for a pillow, 
My fair wife and cottage — I oft dream of you. 



}'<u;e i(> 



OF AN ENGINEER 



TRANSFORMATION 

The soul finds a home in the new-born babe 
When the first breath of life is drawn, 

And holds the fort until the structure falls, 
Then the soul comes out and is gone. 

— Genesis, 2nd chapter, 7th verse. 

Day follows day and night follows night, 

And the centuries onward roll ; 
Youth follows youth and age follows age, 

By the breath of a living soul. 

— John 3 :15 and 4 and 36. 

How many times have we lived on earth, 
And how many times have we died ? 

How many bodies have we worn out 
With souls that will always abide ? 

— First Epistle General of John, and 25th verse. 

And thus it is the soul lives on; 

When one body goes to decay 
Another body with a new name 

God gives in His own good way. 

— Eccleslastes, 6 and 10. 



Page f,7 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



GOD HELP THE POOR 

Whon the lamps all glow with light 

And the (ires are warm and bri.uht. 

And tho c'liilling wind moans dreary out the door, 

WiuMi tiio snow tlakes till the air 

And the sleet drives everywhere, 

My soul goes out to Thee — 

God help the poor! 

When 1 tread the crowded street 

And the richly clad 1 meet — 

When I see the laden counters in each store, 

When I see one wan of face, 

Empty handed in life's race, 

Then my soul goes out to Thee — 

God help the poor! 

In the vaults are sacks of gold 

Hoarded up to rust and mould 

Hy the hand of Greed which makes the Ix^lts secure, 

Which could save the frightful loss 

That is poverty's sure coast, 

INly heart goes out to Thee — 

God help the poor! 



i'fiyc 4» 



OF AN ENGINEER 



THE STORM 

The peerless Watts was a clipper ship 

And a clipper ship was she; 
She sailed out straight from the Golden Gate 

And she made for the open sea. 

"East southeast!" the skipper called 
And the good ship veered about; 

She is scudding down before the wind 
With every sheet filled out. 

"A squall !" rang out from the afterwatch. 

And the squall was plain to see; 
Clouds as black as a raven wing 

Were swooping down on the sea. 

"Aloft, ye dogs of the sea! Aloft! 

Up ! Up and furl each sail ! 
Old Neptune is blowing his trumpet hard, 

Make ready our ship for the gale!" 

The sails were in and anchor lashed, 
And the storm came down with a howl ; 

Blue lightning hissed adown the spars 
And thunder clouds did growl. 



l'<l(IC !,<) 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



The mizzen mast went into the sea, 
Then the main mast with a crash ; 

Then the crew of the Watts went overboard 
With the cook that made their hash. 

The ship now floats — a derelict — 

Weathering storms and tide. 
She has no captain to give command, 

No pilot there to guide. 

And why the fate of the sturdy ship ? 

How strange it was — ^how queer! 
The mermaids whisper, "The crew was drunk, 

She carried a cargo of beer." 



Page HO 



OF AN ENGINEER 



SWEETLY THEY SLEEP 

We sing of the ship that never returned 

And the letter that never came. 

We sigh as we look at the vacant chair 

And whisper some loved one's name. 

We are shocked when a mighty ship goes down 

In the depths were urchins creep, 

And we bear the grief because we must live 

While our dear ones are calm in their sleep. 

Though the elements rave and wild winds sweep 

And strew with shipwreck the bellowing deep, 

Though thousands go down where none go to weep, 

And storm demons revel in destruction they reap, 

They heed not the moaning for sweetly they sleep. 

Though tempests m^ay howl and thunderbolts rattle 

And armies are vanquished in tumult and battle; 

The dew settles down and night shadows creep 

With softness and silence o'er graves where they sleep. 

Though the trenches be clogged with heroes who bled, 

Who gave up their lives and lie low with the dead. 

Though fathers may mourn and mothers may weep. 

Yet freedom must live, though our heroes must sleep. 

Though famine may stalk through the nations again, 



Pafje 51 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



And pestilence reap — as the reaper does p:rain — 
And want's l)ony finj?ers bind men with his chain, 
They hunjrer not, thirst not, no hot tears they weep, 
Unknown are earth's troubles for sweetly they sleep. 
Thoujrh volcanos burst forth, the earth quake and tremble, 
And the Gods of destruction in fury assemble, 
They hear not the maelstrom, no startled hearts leap, 
Lo! the calm is unbroken when sweetly they sleep. 



Written 111 tlio nuthor's olplitloth yenr. 

Pane 5S 



OF AN ENGINEER 



THE SKELETON'S BALL 

I found myself in a Cave of Death, 
Nor knew how I came, nor why. 

But frightful sounds came at every breath, 
And gruesome scenes to the eye. 

Graveyard inhabitants thronged about 

And family skeletons, too; 
Yet never a secret was let out, 

Nor a scandal brought to view. 

They looked about with a jaw-bone grin 

And suspicious, silent gaze; 
There was something going to begin 

By the strangeness of their ways. 

The dirge of the dead march first was heard, 
Then jazz for the bones to dance, 

As they orbed each other silently. 
While their bones began to prance. 

Strange, lurid lights in the cave burned blue 

(My blood turned ice-water cold). 
They drank out of skulls, this motley crew, 
And resorted to deeds untold. 



Page 53 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



All that mortals ever thought or knew 

From the cradle to the grave, 
Can be seen and heard when lights burn blue 

As in that skeleton cave. 

What comes ! A pack of blood-eyed hounds 

On scent of the dancing bones! 
I stood with fright and with trembling frame, 

At the sound of goulish groans. 

Then the dry bones rattled o'er the rocks 
Straight headed for some old grave, 

In a mighty effort, from the hounds 
Each skeleton form to save. 

A vast howl rent the dismal cave. 
For the hounds began to weep. 

As I stretched my neck to see the show 
I woke from a sleepless sleep. 



Page 5i 



OF AN ENGINEER 



FLOUR GRAVY 

Ho ! the good old flour gravy 
That our mother used to make ; 
It was good on steaming biscuit, 
It was good on johnnycake. 

It was good in every season, 
In the springtime, summer, fall ; 
It was good out in the pantry, 
In the dining room or hall. 

'Twas good on buckwheat pancakes. 
It was good on mashed potatoes. 
It went down with satisfaction 
Along with sliced tomatoes. 

It was fine when we'd no butter. 
It was good upon dry bread ; 
It was good at every meal time. 
After blessing had been said. 

Long-past joys drift back sometimes. 
To the good old days at home. 
E'er the family ties were broken 
And we all began to roam. 

One dear thought oft comes to me. 
And I sing it for her sake, 
It is of the old flour gravy 
That our mother used to make. 



Page 55 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



WHAT IS MAN? 

l'\>r nil lli'sli Is n.s Kfass. iuu\ nil tlu> >;lov.v o( man j\s (lu> lU>wor of gnu 
Tho K<!>NS wllhcivth ami ll\i< iKnvor thoroof lalUMli. I'olor •-'-■«. 

Only a blade of jrrass 

In the nioadow ot* the world: 

Only a fallen leaf 

l\v drivinir tempests hurled. 

Only a stalk of .urain 

With the reaper's siekle near. 

Only a passing breath 
In 'rime's relentless ear. 

Only an earthen vase 

That Satan strives to till. 
And yet a chosen vessel 

To voice the Potter's will. 



PmgtX 



OF AN ENGINEER 



THANKSGIVING 

A nation's j?ratitude to-day 

Goes out to Thoo, Almijifhty God; 
Wc thank Thee for 'J'hy ^iftH of love, 

And [)raisc Thee for the chastening rod. 
The fruitful seasons come and jjo, 

With summer days and winter storm; 
The blessinjrs, countless as the stars, 

Descend upon us multiform. 
The cotton fields are white with down, 

Our wheat fields were as sheets of jjfold; 
The orchard boughs were bended low 

With fruitage rich and many-fold. 
Again the corn fields yield the ear. 

Our cribs are filled with golden grain. 
The vines were hung with clustered grapes, 

The vintage fills our casks again. 
The mines unfold their wealth to us. 

The gold, the silver and the coal — 
These are the Lord's rich gifts to men; 

F'orgive us, Lord, when we contend. 
Forgive us. Lord, though we forget 

To thank Thee while we feast and drink; 



PuiJi; n 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



We did not make these things ourselves — 

The earth belongs to Thee, we think. 
We did not make the luscious fruits 

That drop from orchard, bush and vine ; 
We did not shape the fatted fowl, 

Nor make the grapes that give us wine. 
Forgive us. Lord, though we forget. 

We did not make the wheat and corn; 
Our little hands are only toys. 

All those of a great God are born. 
And so we praise Thy name today 

For joys and blessings multiplied; 
We praise Thee for Thy gift su])reme, 

Thine only Son, the Crucified. 



November 20. 1017. Watts. Cal. 

Page 5S 



OF AN ENGINEER 



TO A MILLIONAIRE 

O rich man, wrapped in thy silken coat, 

Dost thou have aught to fear, 
When wintry winds sweep over the hills. 

And forest leaves are sere? 

rich man, thou hast thine acres broad. 

Steam heat, wrought chandelier. 
When winter winds drive through hovels bare 

Dost thou have naught to fear? 

rich man, tho hast thine acres broad, 

Thy vaults groan with thy store. 
Why squeeze thy riches in thy hand 

And struggle yet for more ? 

Thy days are numbered, foolish man ! 

The hand writes on the wall — 
Thou shalt go the way the beggar goes 

And leave thy hoarded all. 

O rich man, thou art so slow to learn 

That earth and her stores within 
Belongs to a God that looks upon 

Greed as a damning sin. 

O rich man, drunk on the wine of wealth. 

When it shall be too late 
Charge not the vengeance wrecked on a fool 

To bling and aimless Fate. 



Page 59 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



THE ANSWERS THAT CAME 

I called to Wealth ; he turned from me 

With haughty look, and said, 

"The world's a store-house full of goods, 

The door is open, all are free, 

'Tis full from basement to top shelf — 

Walk in and help yourself, yourself." 

I called to Glory, and it came — 

Back from the mountainside and plain — 

An echo came, up from the vale, 

And from the far-off wooded hill. 

From city walls of many story 

A taunting voice cried "Glory, glory!" 

I called to Fame, to write my name 
Upon the record book of time ; 
My name was caught up by the wind 
And borne where'er the free winds blow ; 
The four winds whisper soft my name — 
A soon-forgotten name. Ah! Fame! 

I called to Love to quench my thirst, 

To fill my yearninj>-, empty soul ; 

Then from a temple in the skies 

A sweet voice called, "Come unto me," 

I looked, and lo! a spirit dove 

Came down and filled my soul with love. 

Page 60 



OF AN ENGINEER 



JOY AND WOE 

JOY 

I went to the church and the preacher preached; 
His theme was love and cheer — good cheer. 
Then the organ played and the singers sang, 
"Joy to the world, Heaven's here — is here." 

WOE 

I passed the door of a gin saloon. 
And there came from within the fumes of beer, 
And a drunkard screamed with tremens mad: 
''Hell is on earth. Hell's here — is here." 

JOY 

Let us go to a beautiful garden now, 
The fragrance of the flowers is always here. 
And a song bird sings with swelling throat: 
"What a beautiful world. Heaven's here — is here.' 

WOE 

To the grim state prison next we go. 
Where out through the bars the prisoners peer. 
And a pale-faced youth with trembling voice 
Said, "Help me get out for Hell is here." 



Paye Gl 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



JOY 

"O, love that will not let me go," 

A poet sang: with a vision clear, 

"Love in the soul, with a Christian life, 

Brings Heaven here — brings Heaven here." 

WOE 

In a city's den, where dark vice lurks, 

And the inmates crouch with shame and fear, 

A young girl on her dying couch 

Said, 'They dosed me with wine, and Hell is here. 

Oh, shame on men — Hell is here." 



Page 6S 



®I|? iiuaterg 



l'ii()e Ki 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



A Midnight Vision 



The author of this poem sat up alone In a room to watch the old year out 
and the new year In, and just at twelve o'clock midnight, when the hells began 
to ring he commenced to write. The verses were flnished before daylight. 



Page 6i 



OF AN ENGINEER 



THE MYSTERY 

The new year brings new resolutions, 
To men and maids and institutions ; 
The new year came, I sat reflecting 
On what Fd done and been neglecting: 
Back through the past and silent years. 
Fought with hard toiling and with tears, 
Intent was I, and rapt in dreaming; 
The grate was bright with coals a-gleaming. 
My lamp sat on the stand a-glowing ; 
The midnight hours were swiftly going; 
The Tower Bell, with solemn tone. 
Rang out the hours — I sat alone — 
I sat there. 

Thinking, 

Winking, 

Blinking. 



Page 65 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



Ah! then there came a silent creature — 
A softly moving, noiseless creature — 
Though my door was locked securely, 
In she stepped, proud and demurely, 
With steps as light as spirit's tread ; 
With haughty look, and toss of head, 
She scrutinized the room with care. 
Then sat her in the rocking chair. 
Surprised, I rose in quite a fluster. 
And yet, in silence, without bluster 
To me the meeting was quite shocking ; 
She heeded naught, but went to rocldng. 
I stood and 
Gazed, 
Amazed, 
Quite dazed. 



Pa(/c 66 



OF AN ENGINEER 



When love is born within a soul 
Customs and laws do not control. 
There lingers with me from my birth 
A love for beauteous things on earth : 
And so mine eyes with hungry stare 
Looked on the beauty of the fair; 
The golden curls and tossing plume 
Of her who sat within my room ; 
I saw her arm and taper'd hand, 
Her form both delicate and grand. 
Fate or fear starts my heart knocking- 
The silent guest keeps rocking, rocking. 
I stood there. 
Grounded, 
Astounded, 
Dumbfounded. 



Par/e 67 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



In love's fond march there's no receding; 
And soon forgetting all my breeding, 
I so intently viewed the form 
My heart was torn with silent storm; 
Her head was crowned with glossy curls, 
Her teeth were bright as polished pearls, 
Her silken lashes long and bright, 
Environed eyes dark as the night, 
A face more sweet than angels wear 
Was wreathed within the glossy hair; 
My heart grew quick with violent knocking 
As my fair guest kept rocking, rocking. 
I stood there. 

Excited, 

Indicted, 

Delighted ! 



Page 68 



OF AN ENGINEER 



When war grows fierce and cannon roar, 
The soldier's fear is always o'er; 
Though he lay vanquished in the sun, 
Or triumph when the battle's won. 
The storm within my breast now ceased. 
My gaze and scrutiny increased. 
Our language fails with words or stress 
This fair one's beauty to express. 
Though I grew wild to speak her name, 
I could not, nor know whence she came. 
Her slippers showed, and a white stocking, 
As she sat rocking, rocking, rocking. 
And I stood there, 

Amused, 

Enthused, 

Confused ! 



Page 69 



OF AN ENGINEER 



"Be ye maiden, ghost, or witch?" 
(Love's blind passion cares not which;) 
Those red rosebuds, lined with pearl, 
I will kiss them, my fair girl." 
Then I moved toward her a pace, 
Lo! she quickly turned her face. 
And I met her dark eyes staring. 
Through my soul these eyes seemed tearing, 
And I stood there, not receding. 
As my motives she was reading. 
My whole system seemed unlocking 
As she kept on rocking, rocking; 

While my heart kept 

Jumping, 

Thumping, 

Bumping ! 



Page 70 



OF AN ENGINEER 



Now growing faint and sore oppressed, 
The silent spectre I addressed: 
"I pray thee, madam, since I, blest 
With thy sweet presence, thou my guest, 
May I not learn of thee thy name ; 
Pray tell me, and from whence you came? 
Wouldst thou some news to me unfold 
That needs in secret to be told? 
Why hast thou sought me thus alone? 
I pray thee make thy wishes known." 
In sullen dumbness that was shocking 
She still kept rocking, rocking, rocking! 
I stood there. 

Aching, 

Shaking, 

Quaking ! 



Page 71 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



Entreaties make the heart «:row bold: 
My strength came back now many fold. 
Though dark foreboding o'er me hover, 
This mystery now I must discover. 
"How came ye here through locks and bars — 
Hast thou dropped from among the stars? 
Art thou the Nemesis which hist'ry 
Surrounds with vengeance and with myst'ry? 
Seek ye here for restitution, — 
Broken vows or resolution? 
Why sit ye thus in silence mocking? 
Come, cease thy rocking, rocking, rocking!" 
I stood there. 

Staring, 

Glaring, 

Daring! 



Pageti 



OF AN ENGINEER 



"Tell me, dark ey'd midnight maiden, 
With your rich charms heavy laden, 
Art thou the Queen of Fairy Land, 
Or of some roving gypsey band? 
Hast thou good fortune stored for me? 
Does condemnation bide with thee? 
Art thou in secret service biding. 
To seek some genius when in hiding 
To drag before the world for trial? 
Speak, speak, I pray you, make denial !" 
Her rocking now seemed quite complete. 
She rose and stood upon her feet. 
I stood there. 

At last. 

Aghast 

And fast! 



Paijc 73 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



Those white hands to her bosom flew, 
The silken fastenings to undoe. 
And from the opening then she slipped 
The arms with which she came equipped. 
Her left hand drew a cord pure white, 
And a barbed arrow with her right. 
I trembled and with deep-drawn sigh 
Read my sad fate in her dark eye. 
With angel gesture and with art 
She pressed the white cord to her heart. 
This cord means love, I apprehend 
With the barbed arrow at the end. 
I stood there. 
Exposed, 
Deposed, 
Transposed ! 



Page Ik 



OF AN ENGINEER 



In the north seas the whaler stands 
With line and harpoon in his hands 
To smite the monster of the deep 
Whose bone and oil the whalers keep. 
I am no whale with blubber oiled, 
To be harpooned, cut up and boiled. 
To live is joy, to die is just, 
To earth belongs all living dust. 
The arrow that may strike by day 
Or midnight visitor may slay, 
Yet fear has fled, I cannot weep. 
For He who keeps me does not sleep. 
I stood there. 
Consenting, 
Repenting, 
Relenting! 



Paye 75 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



And now the midnight specter stands 
With cord and arrow in her hands; 
"How beautiful she is," thought I, 
When, Lo! she let the missle fly; 
I felt the shock, the sting, the smart. 
For Oh ! it pierced my throbbing heart. 
I raised my hands to call the Lord — 
Ah! then she drew hard on the cord; 
My poor heart soon had ceased to beat, 
And I lay vanquished at her feet; 
I felt the cold, calm kiss of death 
Upon my lips at the last breath. 
A Voice said: 
"He is dead. 
Make his bed." 
And she fled. 



Page 76 



OF AN ENGINEER 



Some consciousness I still retained, 
Some lingering memories still remained, 
E'er I had left the fallen clay, 
Forever to remain away : 
I lisped, as in the days of yore. 
My evening prayer when day was o'er : 
"And now I lay me down to sleep, 
I pray the Lord my soul to keep." 
All pain had ceased and I was blest 
With fearless calm and peaceful rest, 
While glorious visions o'er me swept — 
And in my soul a new life le'pt. 
That would 

Not sigh. 

Nor cry, 

Nor die ! 



Page 77 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



O ! mystery ! I live, I live — 
I hear and see, yet cannot give 
A sigh, nor sound, nor motion make; 
I sleep in death, yet am awake; 
I see a wreath and flowers lay 
Upon a little mound of clay. 
Up from my head there seems to rise 
A polished stone toward the skies; 
Within, a sculptured wreath, a name 
Placed there by the just hand of fame ! 
The day is dawning; out of night 
I seem to float in seas of light. 
The new life, 
Never 
To sever. 
For ever! 



Page 78 



OF AN ENGINEER 



Then there came walking through the air, 
With snowy robes and visage fair, 
A messenger whom I did greet; 
The scars of spikes were on his feet, 
And Roman spikes had torn the hands. 
That gather souls from many lands, 
That pressed the children to his breast 
And gave the groaning leper rest. 
Oh ! joy supreme, he whispered "Come !" 
0! boundless love, I'm going home 
To Father's mansion in the skies, 
Farewell to earth ! I rise, I rise ! 

Life Everlasting, 

Fraternal, 

Supernal, 

Eternal ! 



Page 79 



JFragm^ntH 



Paye 81 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



BACK AT THE FARM 

Such hours as these I cherish, 
Happy scenes on life's rough way. 
Flowers fill the air with fragrance 
And birds sing their roundelay. 
Scenes that all my senses charm 
Back from childhood's days so pleasant, 
Greet a wanderer returning 
To the old home farm. 



Augusta, Canada, 1872. 

Page 82 



OF AN ENGINEER 



TRANSMIGRATION 

From bank to bank and shore to shore 
The ferry laden crosses o'er 
From either side the travelers come 
To cross the stream and hasten on. 

The silent river flows away 
By stately forest, point, and bay. 
Nor ceases till it gains the sea. 
Where rivers find their destiny. 

And they who cross on ferryboat 
Adown time's stream swift onward float. 
Till they all reach the other sea 
Whose bounds are vast eternity. 



Martin's Ferry. 
Page 83 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



TO AN ACTRESS 

For charity I went in search 'neath spire and dome, 
Where worshippers knelt low at altars fair, 
In gorgeous robes and jewels rich and rare. 
They said their prayers, paid their tax, went home, 
But Charity, it was not there. 

I went into an attic, called by direst woe ; 

A woman there whose life had not been white — 

Diseased, abused, her womanhood a blight. 

One like an angel moved about the place 

And served the women with the haunted face. 

An actress she. I had not thought to find it so — 

Yet Charity was here, I know. 



Pa()C 8!, 



OF AN ENGINEER 



INGERSOLL 

Giant of intellect and orator sublime ! 
He lived a hundred years before his time. 
Hated and crucified by ignorance uncouth 
Because he dared to live and speak the truth. 

Beneath a monument of bronze he sleepeth well : 
For him no purgatory, no nor burning hell. 
He loved Mankind — the Free Land of his birth. 
Sweet be his sleep upon the breast of Mother Earth. 



On the death of Robert IngersoU. 
Paoe 85 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



WINTER 

Black arc the clouds and blue with cold ; 
Tho hills are covorod with drifted snow; 
Tiio toworinj>- pines are bendinjr East 
As wild the wind from the West doth blow. 

Marked are the windows with artistry, 
Like cedar trees of the Northern clime 
And bunches of rushes and tall, wild ^niss 
Traced in the silver of winter time. 



Mniilsti-o, Mli-h., IVo. (i, 1871. 

Pane 8C, 



OF AN ENGINEER 



THE WATER SPOUT 

Hanging mountains of mist — 
So the cloud bank looked from shore : 
But as it moved swiftly landward 
It was this — and something more. 

Craggy and ragged cliffs 
Yawned black as graves full of dead 
While shadowy ghouls and devils 
Seemed gathering overhead. 
Monsters with long black necks 
Broke loose and the water struck, 
Struck with an awful crash and roar 
With a hiss and boil and suck. 
The troubled waters writhed 
And threw up their arms of spray, 
But the frenzied monsters seized them 
And rushed shoreward with their prey. 



Cleveland, July 10, 1897. After seeing waternpoiitH from the Bhore. 
I'ltfic 87 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



FLAMES 

From row to row they sweep ; 
From block to block they leap 
These saddening, maddening 

Lighting, blighting flames ! 
Terror supremely reigns 
As the inferno gains : 
Burning at morning — noon — 
And by the rising moon. 
Burning at early dawn 
And with a fresh day gone. 



From a lengthy poem on tb«> Chicago fire, 1871. 

Page 88 



OF AN ENGINEER 



NONE ARE LOST 

O friends of mine so kind and true 
That long have passed from my dim view, 
Wher'er your course has tracked the main 
In some port we shall meet again. 

For none have ever yet been lost 
Though rough and stormy the way crossed. 
One Captain stands before each mast 
To pilot all safe home at last. 



Page 89 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



LONG AND BLACK 

Long and black ! 

Long and black 

Are the mourning flags along the track! 

Black, black, deep mourning everywhere 

And sounds of sobbing in the air. 

E'en winds sob as the black they blow, 

Our noble Lincoln lying low. 

Long and black, 

Long and black. 

Is a Nation's mourning in this hour 

Made victim of assassin's pow'r. 



Written during a trip on Welland Canal at the time of the assassination of 
President Lincoln. The emblems of mourning on the Canadian side were not less 
in evidence than in the States. 

Page 90 



OF AN ENGINEER 



THE WINDS 

Leap up ye merrie winds that cleave the skies 
And sweep throu^^h eanyon wild where mountains rise; 
'I'hen baek throujifh wooded [lills, o'er dark morass, 
And steppe and forest as ye singing pass. 

Sw(!ep on, yo. fitful winds, across th(! plain, 
Around (.ape Horn and down the coast a^ain; 
Across the plunging seas where storms are horn 
And simoons thirst to kiss th<! Matterhorri. 



VVrlllni !il San INmIio, <"al 

I'liin: m 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



A WHISPER 

There's a whisper on the wind down at Watts 
Of the Brewers, and the wets and their plots. 
There is rumor on the street, when they meet, 
That the drys will all get beat, and retreat. 

When election day rolls around, 'twill be found 
That the drys are on the ground, to astoimd ; 
When the votes are counted out, what a rout, 
And the wets will cuss and pout — cuss and pout. 



Page 92 



OF AN ENGINEER 



RISE, HOPE ! 

Drop, drop, drop, tear, from weeping eyes ! 

Sigh, sigh, sigh from the wounded heart, sighs ! 

The sighs of the past would wake a world 

And the tears a troubled sea. 

But the sighs and tears of bygone years 

Will never come back to me. 

Rise, rise, rise, hope in the human soul ! 
Rise, rise, rise, to plains of the Christian goal ! 

withering years, and ashes of earth. 
Thou hast nothing in store for me; 

1 will soar above, to a heaven of love, 
In the fields of Eternity. 



Page 93 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



RATS 

There's a great variety of rats — 
Some in castles, some in flats, 
Some in caves among- the bats. 

The old jrray rat well known to all — 
Is found in barn and crib and stall — 
To steal and pillage he's designed 
For all the rats seem thus inclined. 

The miner oft feels great disgust 
When mountain rats steal his last crust, 
And while some rats get fat on ham 
The musk rat seems to thrive on clam. 

What nature is for rats you see 
Cannot be helped by you nor me. 
But if we'd prosperous be and blest 
We must be rid of this one pest — 
The rat that steals the Nation's cheese 
And pilfers Uncle Sammie's fees. 
The one that's brought us where we're at 
That worst of rats — the Democrat. 



/•(I(7«' 9i 



OF AN ENGINEER 



IN CONNECTICUT 

The chestnut tree with creamy Vjloom 

Waves o'er these mountain hills ; 
The songs of happy birds comes clear 

From wood grown, mossy rills; 
And often where the deep ravines 

Between these mountains lie 
A crystal brook goes gurgling through, 

Where speckled trout their trade do ply. 



On the way to Boston, 1872. 
Page 95 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



LAKE MICHIGAN IN NOVEMBER 

The North wind wails afar; 
The waves on the lake turn dull and black, 
As they roll and break upon the shore; 
They shed cold tears on the barren sand 
While pebbles and shells are encased in ice 
By the driven spray that sprinkles them o'er. 



Page 96 



OF AN ENGINEER 



BY THE MYSTIC SEA 

I stand upon the short of Time 
And look out on the Mystic Sea. 
And wonder when the ship will come 
That bore my friends away from me — 
The ship that will come after me. 



Written by the Pacific Ocean. 
Pagem 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



FAREWELL 

Fare thee well gentle summer 
With thy wreath of blossoms fair — 
With thy bright and silv'ry moonbeams 
And thy fragrant, balmy air, 
As loved ones we bid adieu, 
So we bid farewell to you. 



lOliuwood (\>mot(>r.v, Detroit. Kiid of KUinnior, 1872. 

Page 99 



OF AN ENGINEER 



IN THE GOLDEN GLOW 

The sea rolled in through the Golden Gate 
Where a thousand proud ships lay, 

And the Golden Glow of the Selling Sun 
Made molten rose of the ruffled bay. 



Sun Ii'runclsco, 1!)1(». 
l'(i(/<i <.)<J 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



ICE LOCKED 

The days are growing longer; 

The sun is getting stronger 

And the broad and icy gates 

Soon will open in the straits. 

Then away through winds and weather 

Sail my ship and I together. 



Detroit. Waiting for the Maclnac to open up. 

Page 100 



OF AN ENGINEER 



LIKE BIRDS DEPARTING 

The days pass by like midnight dreams! 

I know I live — yet life but seems 

A vision hurried past. 

Childhood and youth with humming wings 

Speed by like birds departing; 

Next, sturdy manhood's race is closed 

E'er it seems time for starting. 



Memphis, 1902. 
Page 101 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



SHE LIFTS HER HEAD! 

Look you ! The Queen of the South ! 

Again she lifts her head 
Over the ashes, and smiles of hope 

To those who dreamed her dead. 



After the War between the States. 

Page lOi 



OF AN ENGINEER 



CLOUD SHIPS 

The spirits of many departed ships 
That have sailed earth's troubled seas, 
Ride high in the blue with sails of fleece 
Blown here and there with magical ease — 
Silent and shadowy — silver and white — 
These spirit ships sail by day and by night. 
And who mans these ships ? Who knows ? 



Page 103 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



THE FIRST SNOW 

The thick jrrey clouds sail low; 

The notes of the lonely wood bird come 

From tangled thicket and faded brake, 

And the wcH>d pecker pecks — and pecks, 

And the jay bird scolds and scolds 

As it views the falling Hake, 



Page lOi 



OP^ AN ENGINEER 



THROUGH THE STORM 

Out on the Sea of Life alone 

The storm drives fierce, the nip^ht is dark: 
O Pilot of the Soul, in Thee I trust 

To guide my storm-swept, tossing barque. 



Tori lliiroii, 1!)();{. 
I'ni/c lor, 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



HALLELUJAH ! 

There is music in the air 

From the mountain to the sea ! 

It comes up the fertile valley 
And across the flow'ry lea; 

It springs up from the depths. 
It drops down from the sky : 

It is "Glory hallelujah! 

California's going dry!" 



Page lOG 



OF AN ENGINEER 



UNDER BROAD ELMS 

Beneath the broad green elms I sit, 

Where sparrows chirp and robins sing; 

I love to look and listen here 

To that which brings to my heart spring. 



Boston Commons, July 6, 1872. 
Page 101 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



NATURE IS TURNING 

When the cold autumnal winds 
Drive the honey bees all home; 
When the yellow leaves turn brown 
And the butterflies are gone; 
When the swallows have flown south 
And the winds of winter sigh; 
Sing a song of joy and hope 
Nature's turning on her track — 
Turning to bring summer back. 



Page 108 



OF AN ENGINEER 



COMRADES 

We dash, we splash the pebbles o'er 
We waltz and trip together. 
We sing our happy, mystic song 
As breezes roll our waves along 
Forever and forever. 



Milwaukee, by the lake. 
Page 109 






Page 111 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



A FABLE 

A mud turtle crept out of the mud and sat near a frog 
sunning itself on a log which lay in the pond. At the edge 
of the log a clam was slowly making its way along the bot- 
tom and leaving a furrowed streak behind it. 

"Ah!" said the turtle, being an old gossip, "see our 
neighbor; how everlastingly slow she is getting along. It 
seems to me she is the most stupid thing I ever saw." 

"Yes," said the frog, "not only stupid, but filthy. Look 
at the mud on her dress as she goes trailing along with her 
face down, as if ashamed to look up." 

"She is contemptible," said the turtle. 

"I envy her for one thing only," said the frog earnestly. 
"She has within that plain dress and homely form a pearl 
of great value." 

"Is it possible?" said the turtle. 

"Oh, yes, it is sought after by kings and princes, by 
millionaires, and is a rare gem." 

"That being the case, I owe my neighbor an apology," 
said the turtle. "I am only a mud turtle, with no pearl 
within." 

"And I am only a frog with a long tongue, and will try 
and think of the pearl my neighbor has, before speaking 
of her faults." 

Moral : Speak of your neighbor's good qualities, think 
of your own meanness, and keep quiet. 



Page 112 



OF AN ENGINEER 



CONUNDRUM 

The profiteer and buzzard — 
Alike they are. And why? 

Both flourish on misfortune 
And they both fly high. 



THE ANT 

The ant that fills, with hardest work 
Its storehouse 'neath the soil, 

Deserves respect more than the leech 
Who lives upon another's toil. 



Page 113 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



MY CHOICE 

I'd rather leave one child on earth 
Whose life would make earth better, 

Than leave a million to inspire 
Some sordid money getter. 



TO A WOMAN 

Friendship and love, like the wild honey-bee, 
Seek the flowers that yield the most sweet. 

Friendship and love — just as honey-bees do — 
Quickly perish on nothing to eat. 



Page 11!, 



OF AN ENGINEER 



WHY? 

Why should a man be but a shrimp 

And in life's effort fail 
When he might by boldly launching out, 

Become instead a whale? 



WHY IS THIS? 

Giants have walked the earth unseen — 

Unknown to fame and story, 
While throngs have cheered the silly dwarf 

And made him heir to glory. 



Page 113 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



BORROWED GARMENTS 

The forms of men are garments angels wear; 

But oftentimes for lack of honest use 
The devil gets him into them a while 

To plunder, murder and seduce. 



THE POWER BEHIND THE PEN 

When angels move the pen 
Moved by the hands of men, 
What's written moves the men 
That moved the moving pen. 



Page 116 



OF AN ENGINEER 



WOUNDS 

The wounds of a saber are easily borne 
By him who a victory has sung, 

But painful the wound of an honest heart 
When made by a lying tongue. 



SELF APPOINTED JUDGES 

The tumult of the world goes on — the bitter strife 
That mortgages the happiness of life. 
Deliver me, from those who know not love, God, 
Yet sit in judgment with the chastening rod. 



Roland, Ark. 



Page 117 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



I'D RATHER BE SLAPPED 

I'd rather be slapped by Honesty's hand 
Right square in the face forsooth. 

Than be caressed by the velvet paw 
That strangles Freedom and Truth. 



WHEN FASHION RULES 

When fashion rules and Nature yields to art, 
And life is hurt by daily jar and fret. 

'Tis best to shut our dreams close in the heart 
And go the way alone — love and forget. 



Leadville. Colo., 1890. 



PdDC US 



OK AN ENGINEER 



TFIF. DEVIL'S CORKSCREW 

The corkHcn^w of the devil — 

TIiat'H whiskey. 
JuhI to i'ool with it — and fool — 

'rhat'.s rJHky. 
Once iio ^ets his corkscrew in 

A-ia-Kin, 
IIc'll Hti(;k with you on th(; bout 
Till h(!'H poured your maniiood out, 
And the emi)ty bottle east 
On the ruS)biMh h(!a[) at la.st. 



I'aijd It'J 



^Ul1Bl*t 



I'aiiv. m 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 



DREAMS WILL LIVE 

The dreams of my life have been many, 
Thoug-h I've toiled from my youth alway: 

Yet I know in my heart that the dreams will live 
When the toil has passed away. 



Puffe I2i 




^mx^ti 



See Page IS 



OF AN ENGINEER 



FAREWELL 

'Tis evening now, the long dark night is near; 

I'm satisfied with years, and God will keep 
My ashes and my Soul. In peace I rest 

In the Creator's arms awaiting sleep. 

I fear no Man-made hell. I seek no priest- 
Made heaven. Remorse give me no tear to weep. 

God's laws are just. All flesh goes back to dust, 
While Souls go to the One who gave, to keep. 

My work is done — sweet peace broods over me — 
The harvest fields now younger men must reap. 

The good-night song of long-gone years I hear, 
And in God's arms I'm being rocked to sleep. 

Life's fleeting, joyful day — how quickly closed! 

Locked eyelids soon will veil my earth-day light. 
Farewell, bright world — world beautiful : Farewell ! 

My children and my faithful wife. Good-night. 



"LeHt I should pass suddenly, will now say farewell." — Written on the edge 
of the paper on which the verses were found. 

Paoe 123 



1/ 



iilHlR 



Hi 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

015 762 919 



